The Church of England’s church buildings form the nation’s largest “estate” of built heritage. A village, town or city’s church is often its oldest building still in continual use, as well as its largest and most visited building. Churches are also often an area’s most architecturally complex and archaeologically sensitive buildings. In all cases, they were constructed for the glory of God, for worship and mission, and stand as repositories of our shared history.
Our Deanery shared in several significant moments in the history of Puritanism in this country. Groups such as the Lollards, founded by John Wycliffe, held reading groups in secret in Billericay. Billericay was a centre of discontent in relation to the Peasants Revolt of 1381, which led to the killing of Wat Tyler, leader of the Peasants Revolt, and final defeat at Norsey Woods.The involvement of Christopher Martin, a churchwarden at St Mary Magdalene Great Burstead, in the voyage of The Mayflower to New England. Martin was agent and treasurer for the group. He also became Governor of the Mayflower. More information about these groups and events can be found at St Mary Magdalene Great Burstead (see below).
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Our churches histories and heritage
There has been a church on the site of St Mary Magdalen Billericay since the 14th century. Rebuilding took place in the 15th century and the tower of that church remains, although the rest of it was replaced in the 18th century with the existing building. The bell from the original building still rings here and has continued in use over the centuries. According to the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, the communion rail is 18th century. The brass plates below are memorials to members of the Darby family. The Rev’d. E.G. Darby was vicar of Billericay from 1877 to 1918.
The church contains a very good example of the carved and painted type of Royal Arms, which were set up in churches after the Reformation in token of the Royal supremacy. The stained glass windows are Victorian, the centre roundels depicting the wheat and grapevine of the sacramental bread and wine. The font is a rather charming example of 18th century design with a turned shaft and cherub heads on the bowl. Above the church’s High Street entrance there are some ancient blue and white tiles with a sort of heraldic device. On the south jamb of the doorway are seen the remains of a holy water stoup.
St Mary the Virgin Little Burstead was built in late Norman times as a windowed oratory and was originally much smaller. The walls of the Church are built of ragstone rubble and of ‘pudding stone’ (a conglomerate of pebbles in a siliceous matrix found locally) with limestone and brick dressing. The round stones on either side of the Porch are probably the base of a Churchyard calvary. The South door is 15th Century and the Porch was added much later. The Font is early 16th Century. The Gallery was added in 1880. The South window in the Nave is 16th Century The stained glass in the North window depicting Apostles, is probably Flemish 17th Century. The window above the Pulpit shows the Coat of Arms of the Walton family, many of whose tombs are in the Sanctuary, Chancel and Nave.
To the right of the Chancel entrance may be seen the remains of mediaeval frescoes decorating the old entrance to the rood loft. The carved corbels at the base of the main beam were probably mutilated in Cromwell’s time. The Chancel is mid-14th Century except the South wall which was reconstructed in the 15th Century and shows a connection with the Tyrell family. The stained glass window in the East wall above the Altar is in memory of John Ismay French who died in 1893. Of special interest are the Aumbry which formerly contained the reserved sacrament and is of unusual depth and the Piscina (or stone basin) which is early English (about 1500). There are many interesting epitaphs on the stones within the Church. At the back of the Church are to be seen facsimilies of the entries of the Church Warden’s records, a water colour sketch of the interior of the Church painted about 1820 and a list of Rectors dating from 1245.
Unusually, St Mary Magdalene Great Burstead has two porches. Enter by the north porch and in the stonework over the 14th century doorway are the heads of a King and Queen and a scene depicting the Annunciation. There is a stoup in the porch. The spacious interior is crowned by a wonderful array of 15th century king post trusses supported by heavy tie beams. A spiral staircase in the choir vestry leads up the bell tower to the ringing chamber. The only remaining part of the Norman structure is the nave which has a narrow Norman window, and further along is a squat Tudor window. In the chancel is a blocked-in door and in the other wall a piscina, now used as an Aumbry.
An arcade of five bays separates the nave from the south chapel, which again, has beautiful roof timbers. This 16th century chapel contains the Tyrell family tombs and ten 16th century carved pews. It has a 13th century piscina with a drain and close by on the wall is a 15th century painted altar curtain. The windows here contains some ancient glass and there is a Royal Coat of Arms with an unusual crouching lion. The Font is 15th century. The 16th century south porch has medieval scratch dials (Primitive sundials) on the stonework of the doorway. Other items of interest include: a 12th century oak Crusader chest, Registers which tell of the burning at the stake, in Chelmsford, of a local man and the marriage of Christopher Martin, who sailed to America on the Mayflower. The most recently discovered treasures are early 14th century wall paintings in the south aisle including the Nativity, the Annunciation, and St Catherine on her wheel.
The Chapel of the Holy Cross was first mentioned in 1230. This early church no doubt stood on the site of the present building and belonged to the Manor of Botelers. The church registers date from 1653 and are kept at the Essex Records Office. The earliest recorded Rector of Laindon cum Basildon was Richard de List in 1254. The oldest part of the building is the nave which dates from the 14th century. The chancel was rebuilt in 1597 using Elizabethan handmade red bricks. The tower also dates from the 14th century and houses three bells. The tenor bell is over 550 years old and was cast by William Chamberlain of London. The bell frame is of oak and may date to the 15th century with the wheels and keyed type ironwork possibly 18th century.
The church is entered through a 500 year old porch, which was restored in 1957. The 16th century door is made of overlapping battens and the spandrels of the roof truss over the door feature very interesting carvings of a bear, a ragged staff and a dragon. Inside the church, the roof dates from 1500. A door in the north wall, now blocked in, dates from the 14th century. In a number of Essex churches there is a blocked in door on the north wall, opposite the font. This is sometimes called the Devil’s Door, through which the Devil is said to have escaped when driven out of infants at Baptism. The three windows in the nave are 15th century. The east window and two small windows in the south wall are modern. The stained glass tracery window was donated in 1992. The altar was presented to commemorate the Coronation of Edward the Seventh in 1902. The old communion table, (still in use in the church), and the communion rails, with twisted balusters, both date from the early 18th century. The weather vane on the tower bears the initials of Francis Aylett and the date 1702. This year saw the accession of Queen Anne and restoration of Holy Cross.
The church of St. Peter’s Nevendon is a small one of the 13th Century, and may have been erected as a mere Chantry Chapel, built to serve some Hunting Lodge of the Fitz Lewis family. The building is of the Early English Period, consisting of a chancel and a nave. There is a small bell turret at the west end of the church, containing one bell. The walls are built of hard chalk covered with Kentish rag stone which must have been brought across from Kent. The walls are pierced with lancet windows on the north and south walls, from the 13th and 24th Centuries. The east window having been damaged by a mine during WWII was of the Decorated Period and is now a wondrous stained glass by Rosemary Rutherford (see Culture). The roof is supported upon crown posts seated on tie beams and dates from the 15th Century. One of the unique items within St. Peter’s one that is not noticed by many, is the stone Easter Sepulchre in the Chancel. This is built within the north wall and is probably one of only seven churches in England to contain such a permanent stone recess, others had wooden containments, and these were probably being used until the time of the Reformation in the 16th Century. Not all Parish churches had a right to possess such a Sepulchre.
Within the south wall of the Nave is a Piscina, this was presumably for an altar which may have stood just outside the Chancel screen. In the north wall near the door is a small recess for holy water, once called a “Benitier”, it being the custom in the Middle Ages for people to dip their fingers into to make the sign of the cross. The church bell dates from 1750 and is dedicated to Cole Sawell, a churchwarden of that period. The Royal Coat of Arms is displayed above the south doorway and demonstrates a sign of loyalty to the reigning royal family about 1715. The armorial design is of the Royal English Hanoverian arms and is intriguing and complex in its format, although now very fragile; it still displays its rich colours in all its glory. The organ was presented to St. Peter’s about 1900, made by Joseph Walker of Tottenham Court Road in London.
A stone church was built by Sir John Giffard at Bowers Gifford in the early fourteenth century and traces of this building still remain in the South wall (circa 1320) and West doorway. St Margaret’s church was a gift of the Lords of the manor, the Giffards, who eventually gave their name to the small village of Bowers Gifford. Sir John fought in the battle Crecy and there is an incomplete brass of him in full armour in the Sanctury. The church is built mainly of Kentish ragstone with a tower and wooden spire which was added in Tudor times. In the bell tower, which is reached by twenty-five steeply winding steps, three bells are housed, all of which are original fourteenth century. The bells are amongst the oldest in the County and are still rung regularly. There is also a fifteenth century Piscina (free standing basin for washing sacred vessels) and a sixteenth century wooden Font cover. The glorious East window won a prize at the Paris exhibition of 1870 and was installed at the church in 1871.
St Nicholas Laindon is a 13th century Grade 1 listed church. It has two particularly notable features; the timber frame bell tower is as fine as anything in Essex, while, the west end of the church, is a unique 16th century timber frame priest house, which became a school for over 250 years.
St Mary’s Runwell is a magnificent mediaeval building which boasts an interesting and mixed history. The name Runwell is said to be derived from ‘Running Well’ but there is no certainty as to derivation. Our Lady’s Well, which may have had a well chapel, can still be visited to this day. The first recorded Rector was Radulphus , according to the manorial visitation by Dean Ralph de Diceto in 1181. Although Radulphus was almost certainly not the first rector, Runwell was rather unusual in that it had a Rector in person, appointed by the patrons, the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The church is an impressive structure of Kentish rag-stone with some pudding-stone and Roman tiles. The imposing west tower has a round stair turret and shingled steeple. The four bells in the bell chamber are as follows: Three have the inscription ‘Robertus Mot me fecit 1591.’ They have been hung for stationary chiming. The building is largely late fourteenth century but the massive pillars of the south aisle show that a considerable building existed in the thirteenth century. The chancel was rebuilt with the nave in the late fourteenth century according to Frederick Chancellor. The original fifteenth century East window with three trefoiled lights in four centred heads with a moulded hood, was reset in the east wall when the chancel was lengthened. The fifteenth century windows in the north wall each have two lights which are trefoiled.
In the South Chapel there are two two-light south windows with cinque-foils, also a slim one-light cinque-foiled east window high over the chapel altar. This contains the only surviving fragments of medieval stained glass. The south door ‘unusually wide and large’ has an original, fifteenth century oak door with original hinges and strapwork. The timber has a curious burn-like mark said to be the mark of the ‘Devil’s claw’. An interesting feature is the medieval scratched sundial on the west jamb of the doorway. The south chapel contains two original piscine and a squint, that is said to be fifteenth or early sixteenth century. The alms box, at the north door, which is of oak, hollowed out and iron bound, is said to be early Stuart. Note also the hagioscope, or squint, in the north wall west of the north door.
The most striking monument is the large sepulchral slab built into a recess in the north wall of the chancel. It has double-chamfered edges and a raised cross on the top. The cross is produced from a square and four circles with a long shaft. This suggests a crozier. The origin is unknown but there is a similar slab and decoration in Dorchester Church, Oxon. It is locally known as the Prioress’s Tomb. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner says that ‘The best thing about the church is its two porches, timber structures of the fifteenth century’ (Essex , pp 380-1 The Buildings of England). They are very fine, especially the south porch which is rarely used or seen. The north porch has some carved work and possibly the builder’s initials but is slightly marred by the modern oak diagonal tongue and groove side panels. The south porch has the original side panels. Both have king-posts and sides with mullions and carved tracery heads. The north porch has quatrefoils and the south trefoils, in the spandrels of the arches.
The present building of St Catherine’s Wickford dates back to 1876 and is Grade II listed; however there are records showing a church has been in existence since 1154. The church was rebuilt entirely from 1875-6 by Henry Stone but reusing old material and incorporating a late medieval roof. At St Catherine’s the nave is entered by the south door, which is covered by a simple porch. To the left of the door is the plain, octagonal 15th Century font. On the west wall is a small part of a wall painting, believed to have been salvaged from the previous building, and on the north wall hangs a list of rectors. The stained glass is the church’s most striking feature. In the north wall are three single lights, depicting Mary with the baby Jesus, Jesus ministering to the sick, and the Good Shepherd. The two double windows on the south wall show Saint Andrew with Saint Peter, and the disciples in the corn fields with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Each window carries its own dedication. The reredos at St Catherine’s was given to the church by Vicar and Churchwardens of All Saints’ Margaret Street. It is by William Butterfield, the architect of All Saints, and is said to be one of the finest of its kind.
Heritage in Basildon borough
There are a number of nationally protected heritage assets in the Borough which include historic assets such as St Nicholas Church, Laindon and Norsey Woods, Billericay; and also more modern examples such as the Mother and Child Fountain in the town square, Basildon. A full list of Listed Sites can be found on the Basildon Heritage website.
The Radion Project depicts a large number of local heritage buildings. Its lenticular screen is located at the back entrance of the cinema in Basildon.
Basildon Heritage aims to preserve the local past for the enjoyment, interest and benefit of future generations of Basildonians and has local heritage displays at the Green Centre, Wat Tyler Country Park. The Village Green at Wat Tyler Country Park is edged by historic, picturesque thatched cottages. Little Cooper’s Cottage and Blunt’s Cottage on the Village Green were both brought to Wat Tyler from elsewhere in Essex. Other Heritage Associations in the borough include: Billericay Community Archive; Laindon & District Community Archive; and Wickford Community Archive.
The recent history of the area is one of development, firstly with the Plotland properties and then with Basildon New Town. Plotland properties were built by families (mainly from London’s East End) who bought individual plots. Although originally intended as holiday homes, the Second World War meant that many families came to live in their Plotland homes permanently. The Haven is the last of nearly 200 Plotlands homes that occupied the site now owned by the Essex Wildlife Trust and is the last remaining plotlands house in the UK. It is currently closed while new plans are developed to restore and preserve this important piece of Langdon’s heritage.
The Basildon Development Corporation was appointed in February 1949 to co-ordinate the development of the New Town. In 1950 the first industrial area was started and in 1951 the first New Town residents set up home in Redgrave Road. This was the same year as approval of the very first Master Plan for Basildon which predicted a total population of 80,000. The Master Plan, published in 1977 set the proposed population at 130,000. In the early years the development of houses, shops, factories, community and recreation facilities, and schools went at a pace. It was the Council’s responsibility to work with the Basildon Development Corporation to help build the community spirit of the New Town. This was achieved through Community and Tenants’ Associations as well as providing, in its own right, housing and the sporting and recreation facilities enjoyed by so many today.
